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From the Asheville Citizen-Times (02/06/04)

$2.5 MILLION IN PLEDGES RECEIVED FOR PACK SQUARE

By Mark Barrett, Staff Writer

ASHEVILLE - The group coordinating a planned $6.5 million renovation of Pack Square and City-County Plaza said Friday it has received two pledges totaling $2.5 million for the project.

Pack Square Conservancy said a $1 million pledge came from an individual and a $1.5 million pledge from "a couple who are longtime Asheville residents and green space advocates." It declined to further identify the donors, saying they had requested anonymity.

The conservancy hopes this year to raise $6.5 million for construction of the park in the heart of downtown and another $2 million to provide an endowment for its future maintenance. The pledges leave another $6 million to go.

"All of us who live here, our visitors and generations to come will benefit from the generosity of these donors. We hope their gifts will inspire others," said Carol King, president of Pack Square Conservancy.

The 6.5-acre park property is publicly owned, but King said money to renovate it will come from private donations and possibly state and federal grants.

Construction is scheduled to begin in early 2005 and continue through late 2006 or early 2007. Plans call for an amphitheater in front of the county courthouse and City Hall, changes in traffic patterns and a smaller fountain near Vance Monument, among other changes.

The pledges come with no "quid pro quo," King said, other than anonymity, an assurance that an easement will be placed on the property so it will remain a park and some minor conditions. A third of the $1.5 million gift will go to the endowment, she said.

"I think that's wonderful. We'd like to see the park renovation succeed," said Julie Brandt, a leader in a group that had criticized the Grove Park Inn's now-dead plan to put luxury condominiums at the corner of College and Market streets.

Contact Barrett at 232-5833 or [email protected].